As the new year begins, it is a good time to take stock of where everyone in baseball stands, and Sporting News is doing that by having a look at the best and worst contracts that each team has on the books heading into the new season. Today, it's the American League.

One caveat: all of the contracts mentioned are either deals signed by free agents, or multi-year contracts in which arbitration years have been settled in advance. This means that, although Mike Trout is arguably the best player in baseball and earns close to the league minimum, he is not eligible for consideration, nor are any young players in a similar situation.

All contract figures represent years and dollars remaining, not the overall value of the deals. WAR figures are from baseball-reference.com.

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1

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Baltimore Orioles

Best: Adam Jones (5 years, $76.67 million)

A three-time Gold Glove winner who has hit 65 home runs in the first two years of his contract. At 28, Jones is in his prime and earning only a shade over $15 million a year.
Worst: Nick Markakis (1 year, $15.35 million)

This is not because 2013 was an unmitigated disaster, although that doesn't help. Markakis hasn't been a 3 WAR player since 2008, also the last time he hit 20 home runs. Tack on an extra $2 million for the buyout after this season.

2

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Boston Red Sox

Best: Clay Buchholz (2 years, $19.7 million)

With option years, Buchholz could have as much as four years and $46.2 million on his deal. While he comes with some health concerns, potentially buying out two years of free agency for $26.5 million looks like a bonanza for a pitcher who had a 1.74 ERA in 16 starts last year.

Worst: Mike Napoli (2 years, $32 million)

Not a bad deal in and of itself, but considering that the Red Sox tore up a three-year, $39 million deal with Napoli last winter and then settled on a one-year pact, they could have saved some money if they had not been so worried about Napoli's medicals.

3

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Chicago White Sox

Best: Chris Sale (4 years, $30.65 million)

Option years can, and almost certainly will, take Sale's remaining contract to six years and $56.65 million. That's a slightly lower rate on option years than Clay Buchholz, and for a pitcher who is one of the best in baseball.

Worst: John Danks (3 years, $47.25 million)

Danks had a 4.75 ERA last year in 22 starts after returning from shoulder surgery. If he gets back to being the pitcher who was worth nearly 17 wins above replacement from 2008-10, there is definite value in Danks' deal, but shoulder troubles are notoriously difficult to come back from.

4

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Cleveland Indians

Best: Carlos Santana (3 years, $17.75 million)

Santana also has an option year, for $12 million in 2017, when he will be 31. His annual WAR totals so far have been 2, 3.7, 4.1, and 4.4. What will a 4 WAR player at age 31 be worth in 2017? Much less than $12 million, that's for sure.

Worst: Michael Bourn (3 years, $41 million)

Bourn's stolen base totals already are declining, and 2013 was a troubling year for him defensively. For a player whose best tools are outside of the batter's box, these are not good signs.

5

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Detroit Tigers

Best: Anibal Sanchez (4 years, $62.2 million)

Last year's American League ERA leader turns 30 in February. While he still walks more batters than you might like, Sanchez gives up very few home runs — 88 in 1051 career innings — and helps himself with copious strikeouts.

Worst: Ian Kinsler (4 years, $57 million)

The 31-year-old second baseman is coming off back-to-back subpar offensive seasons and now is moving to a much less hitter-friendly park in Detroit. While Kinsler may be a good fit for a Tigers team looking to win now, the $30 million that Detroit had to pay Texas in the deal that sent Prince Fielder to the Rangers factors in here.
MORE: Best/worst NL contracts

6

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Houston Astros

Best: Jose Altuve (4 years, $12.5 million)

With options, Altuve could be in Houston for another six years, at $25 million when it's all said and done. That's $6.25 million a year for two free agent years. Consider that Omar Infante signed a four-year, $30.25 million contract this winter at age 32, while Altuve will be 28 in 2018, and that's some pretty solid business.

Worst: Scott Feldman (3 years, $30 million)

Pretty much just killing time and getting to a respectable payroll neighborhood until the Astros are ready to contend. That doesn't really make it cool to give $10 million a year to a guy with a 4.62 career ERA.

7

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Kansas City Royals

Best: Alex Gordon (2 years, $24 million)

Gordon has been, on average, a 6 WAR player for the past three seasons. The Royals probably should not count on that $13.25 million player option for 2016 getting exercised.

Worst: Omar Infante (4 years, $30.25 million)

Infante is 32, and has had one 3 WAR season — in 2010. His arrival in Kansas City this winter pretty much was the confluence of a team with a bit of money to spend and a free agent class that left much to be desired beyond the very top tier of players.

8

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Los Angeles Angels

Best: Raul Ibanez (1 year, $2.75 million)

With incentives, Ibanez can earn up to $5 million for his season with the Angels, which is bonkers for someone coming off a 29-homer season until you remember that he's 41. Even so, it's a one-year contract with the potential for tremendous reward, with very little risk taken.

Worst: Albert Pujols (8 years, $212 million)

It's not impossible to see Pujols returning to star status, but he's also 33 years old, coming off a season-ending foot ligament injury, and his salary keeps going up every year for the rest of the contract — from $23 million in 2014 to $30 million in 2021. The odds that he delivers anything close to value for money over the next eight seasons are pretty much incalculable.
MORE: Best/worst NL contracts

9

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Minnesota Twins

Best: Glen Perkins (2 years, $7.5 million)

The Twins have a $4.5 million option for 2016 on their closer, who has become a dominant strikeout artist since making the transition from starting to relieving. Having Perkins also means that Minnesota does not have to go out and overpay for late-inning bullpen help.
Worst: Joe Mauer (5 years, $115 million)

Mauer has hit 33 home runs over the past four seasons combined, and now he's moving to first base to avoid the dangers of catching. He's one of the best pure hitters in baseball, but a $23 million average salary at first base demands more power.

10

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New York Yankees

Best: Alfonso Soriano (1 year, $5 million)

Soriano was second on the Yankees in home runs last year, and played only 58 games for them after being traded from the Cubs, who are on the hook for the other $14 million owed to him. Soriano turns 38 this month, but his power has held up well as he has gotten older, and getting some at-bats as a DH should help him stay fresh.

Worst: Mark Teixeira (3 years, $69.375 million)

Teixeira's numbers already were on a downward slope before he missed all but 15 games last year due to a wrist injury that required surgery. You could also go with Alex Rodriguez (4 years, $90 million) or CC Sabathia (3 years, $71 million), but MLB could take some of A-Rod's salary off the books, and Sabathia does not have the same health concern as Teixeira when it comes to bouncing back in 2014.
MORE: Best/worst NL contracts

11

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Oakland A's

Best: Scott Kazmir (2 years, $22 million)

A great comeback story in 2013 with the Indians, Kazmir now goes to a park and a division where his top weakness, the home run, is less of an issue. It's a short deal for a pitcher who turns 30 this month and has ace capability, lessening the risk for the budget-conscious A's if things don't work out.

Worst: Alberto Callaspo (1 year, $4.875 million)

For a team operating on a shoestring budget, it speaks volumes that the A's have added Nick Punto to their infield mix this winter when they already have Callaspo, acquired in a trade with the Angels last summer. There's no place for Callaspo to play regularly, but he's one of the top earners on the Oakland roster.

12

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Seattle Mariners

Best: Felix Hernandez (6 years, $156 million)

One of the best pitchers in baseball, signed through his age 33 season. The money is big, but it makes sense for where the Mariners are as an organization, with good young pitchers coming in cheap over the next couple of years and a current bargain on Hisashi Iwakuma.
Worst: Robinson Cano (10 years, $240 million)

It's the back end of Cano's deal that looks like a killer, as he gets the same $24 million when he's 40 that he'll get at age 31. Given that the Mariners have done little to upgrade the lineup around him so far, the payment for the early part of the deal looks like money spent chasing little more than third place in the division.

13

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Tampa Bay Rays

Best: Evan Longoria (9 years, $125 million)

Longoria will never make as much as $20 million in a season. He's been a 6 WAR or better player in four of the past five seasons, with the exception being an injury-marred 2012. The Rays don't have a lot of money, but they made the right choice when it came to picking a player to make their cornerstone for the rest of the decade.

Worst: James Loney (3 years, $21 million)

Tampa Bay doesn't have any truly horrendous contracts. The best guess for Loney's deal is that he has one really good season, one pretty bad season, and one generally average season. That'll work out to okay value on three years and $21 million. Maybe they could have filled first base more cheaply, but the Rays have familiarity with Loney and he's performed for them, which means something.

14

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Texas Rangers

Best: Yu Darvish (4 years, $41 million)

The posting fee for the Rangers to get Darvish was $51.7 million, but even adding the average annual value of that to the average annual value remaining on his contract, that's $18.9 million to have the right-hander as the ace in Texas. He's 27 years old and has 498 strikeouts in 401 major league innings.
Worst: Prince Fielder (7 years, $138 million)

The Tigers are chipping in $30 million to bring down the value from $168 million, but that's still a ton of money due to Fielder, who is coming off a season in which he had a .362 on-base percentage. While his power numbers should get a boost with the move from Detroit to Arlington, Fielder's WAR total of 12.8 for the past four years includes two seasons with the Brewers and incorporates numbers that are park-adjusted. If it pays off with a World Series, nobody will care, which is really the point, but this is not a team-friendly deal any way you look at it.

15

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Toronto Blue Jays

Best: Jose Bautista (2 years, $28 million)

An option year could bring Bautista's remaining haul in Toronto to $42 million over three years. Bautista was at 4.1 WAR last season even though he was limited to 118 games, and was a 3.4 WAR player the year before in 92 games. Staying healthy over the remainder of the deal is key, but players with Bautista's power do not generally come for $14 million a year.
Worst: Mark Buehrle (2 years, $39 million)

Buehrle is remarkably durable, with 13 straight seasons of 200 or more innings pitched, but you don't get ace money for simply taking the mound on a consistent basis. The southpaw, who turns 35 in March, has not been a 3 WAR player since 2009.
MORE: Best/worst NL contracts